


The Sidelines

by sakabelle



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Narry hugs on the pitch, Public Display of Affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 17:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1696688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakabelle/pseuds/sakabelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall watches as Harry makes a penalty kick in their charity football match. Harry's quick to hug Niall afterwards, causing their unspoken affection for each other to be at an all time high.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sidelines

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say, I was inspired by the flood of Narry hugs on tumblr! x

Even the rain at King Power Stadium doesn't dampen the glow on Niall's face as he stands off to the side, watching his friends with pride.

His black Adidas jacket clings to him and he shoves his hands in the lined pockets, letting the soft, new fuzz warm his cold knuckles a little bit. He actually loves the jacket – perfectly embossed with _Team Niall_ on the back. Harry gave them out an hour before the match.

“A little better than your Crazy Mofos gear, yeah?” he laughed as Niall held it up and looked at it. 

A warmth flutters in Niall's chest as he thinks about that. It was only a couple of hours prior, but it still gave him a shiver in the best way possible.

He gulps, forcing his feelings down his throat as he watched the lads on the pitch. Now is certainly not the time to be thinking that way. 

“Come on, lads!” Niall shouts out at his team. It's all in good fun, sure. But he actually really does want to win. Show Piers what he and the rest of his team are made of. Give him some good gloating material for the next few months. Whenever Piers makes a dig at him on twitter (which is a lot and he needs some ammo to fire back.)

Louis glances over at him with a bit of a look but Niall knows he's just having a laugh. Louis would never actually sass him out and Niall's well aware of it. He often pushes it as far as he can.

Niall grins at him for a moment before giving in and looking over at Harry. Before the match started he told himself that he wouldn't stare at him. That he would give his equal attention to everyone. That he wouldn't be quite so obvious.

Fat chance of that happening – everywhere Harry goes, Niall's eyes follow.

Harry's got his long hair pulled back into a small ponytail. It's actually cute in an only-Harry-can-pull-it-off sort of way. Niall giggles to himself as he watches. He actually giggles, and it sort of sickens him because Liam chooses that moment to look over at him.

He has to run a hand through his wet hair to cover up the lovesick eyes he's making at Harry.

Niall doesn't know when this started, it just did. And now it's happening and it's just gotten worse ever since Harry called him “Croke Park Princess” three nights before.

That was when Niall knew that Harry felt all the same shivers and got all the same awkward goosebumps that he does. Harry looked at him on the stage – the stage that was sitting above 80,000 Irish fans. He grinned and winked at Niall, letting him in on the secret that the two of them shared but didn't speak of.

Ever since then Niall was a lot more obvious about his affection. He hasn't said anything directly to Harry about it yet. But he's sure he will. He's not overly fussed about it – it'll happen when it's meant to happen.

For now, the distraction of his gorgeous friend running around the pitch and oh, taking a penalty kick of all things is enough. 

Niall stands off to the side and watches as Harry runs up and forcefully kicks the ball with his foot. The ball goes sailing through the air and Niall gasps. He actually gasps, like he would if he were watching an important Derby match. (Though, realistically, _all_ Derby matches are important.) 

It's like slow motion as the ball curves above the pitch, plummeting towards the goal and - 

“Oh my god!” Niall shouts, laughing with delight as he throws his hands in the air. It hits the back of the net and he can't believe it.

Harry grins. He's bombarded with a large group hug from all of the lads on their team. But he quickly escapes it, ducking out from under everyone and running towards Niall with his arms outstretched. The ever-present warmth in Niall's chest increases, likely due to his heart speeding up. It's racing as Harry comes towards him, his green eyes bright with glee.

“That was for you!” Harry shouts as he runs towards Niall. “That was for you!”

Niall can't contain the grin on his face as Harry says those words. Because he knows they hold so much more than what he's letting on. He actually can't contain his excitement. Though he hopes it'll just be seen as sheer happiness for his friend, he doesn't really care too much what other people think.

Niall holds his hands out, keen on high-fiving his friend. He's not going to be obvious, he tells himself. Even though he tried to simply high five Harry earlier and it ended in a warm embrace. This time is just as futile because Harry doesn't even bother, he just goes right in for a tight hug, pulling Niall close. Harry's just as much at fault as he is, the cheeky bastard. He's grinning as he touches Niall, the crowd screaming all around them.

Niall's not even thinking as he wraps his arms around Harry as well. Their bodies are so close together and he's sure Harry can feel his heart pounding. 

If there weren't hundreds of people watching them, if this wasn't the middle of their charity football match, if they didn't need to get on with it, this might be the perfect moment for Niall to finally say something.

Niall's breath catches in his throat as he and Harry cling to each other for a couple milliseconds longer than they normally would if not for their obvious shared affection. Harry even hums a little bit and reaches down to slap Niall playfully on the arse before pulling away. Now he's just being a tease.

But Niall doesn't mind as their embrace comes to an end. Harry's smiling. It's soft and different than the wide grin that was plastered on his face just moments ago. Satisfied. Happy. Simple. The best kind of smile Harry has, Niall thinks. 

It's may not be _the_ perfect moment, but they certainly are getting close to it. Just one of many that'll eventually lead up to his confession. Or Harry's. Whoever gets there first really.

It'll happen soon enough, Niall smiles to himself as he watches Harry run back onto the pitch to rejoin the match. But for now, this is perfect.


End file.
